The storage industry is shifting from 3Gb/s devices to the new 6Gb/s specification which has been a boon to manufacturers as new devices are needed to handle the new, faster devices that 6Gb/s enables.

The 3Gb/s specification reigned for roughly five years which allowed user speeds up to 300 MB/s. With the advent of “disruptive” technologies like SSD devices, the limits of 3Gb/s have been pushed back faster than expected.

Now with devices that are able to saturate the specification, 6Gb/s and its 600 MB/s speeds could not have been integrated in a more timely and appropriate manner.

As an added bonus, the specification is backwards compatible with the existing 3Gb/s specification, allowing users to upgrade the different portions of their storage subsystems at their leisure. With SAS offering compatibility with SATA 6Gb/s as well, the choice to upgrade is definitely one that will afford many levels of storage devices to be used.

The rush to manufacture these devices will capitalize on the speeds of the new 6Gb/s connectivity and Areca comes forward with its premium line of enclosures to fully utilize the possibilities of this emerging technology.

Areca, a company known to cater to enthusiasts and enterprise users alike, has a very solid track record in both the RAID controller arena and the enclosure market. Today we are going to look at Arecas latest offering, the ARC-4036, a JBOD/Expander Box that allows for maximum performance in a nice compact unit.